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...A Million Miles from Home...
...A Million Miles from Home... is the first story in the Gislitoft Outcast story arc. It introduces the characters Alban Gisilfrid, Kristine Gisilfrid, and Aria Shadewood, who serve as the main characters of the story arc. Prologue 1: Deadly burst of snow... Lacyttoft is the Maj Capital of the Republic of Mirannas: this almost city is the central hub for all magical pursuits in the nation. As such, the city is populated predominantly by Elves, whose skill with magic makes them the most powerful beings in the city. Among these elves was a small family that showed great promise in magical prowess: the Moon Elf family known as the Shadewoods. The family consisted of Vorosaer Shadewood, his wife Nelenwe Shadewood, and their 12 year old daughter, Aria Shadewood. Aria was still young, so she was still growing: she was only about 4 and a half feet tall. Like most moon elves, her skin was pale in color, and she had long, sharply-pointed ears. She had long, pale brown hair that reached below her shoulders, and her eyes were a clear blue. She had a slender build, and weighed only 74 pounds, a little on the light side, even for an average moon elf child. She was inquisitive, and was greatly interested in magic and what she did not know. Although still an amateur mage, Aria was somewhat gifted with magical talent. Her parents work to teach her everything they can on how to manipulate Maj, and, already, she can fire out Maj Bolts, orbs of Maj that track a living (or undead or animated Construct) target, and cause light damage to them. She can also conjure up some merely-visual illusion effects, mostly little sparks and rainbowish lights. However, her parents believe her to have some promise as a mage. Aria's parents were particularly skilled in Mysticism and Restoration, although Vorosaer also studied Destruction magic, and Nelenwe was a skilled illusionist. Vorosaer was a tall elf. He had a scar under one of his eyes, the only notable feature on his face. His eyes themselves were blue, like his daughter's, but his hair was greyish. Vorosaer was loud-spoken and always attempted to make his position in an argument known. Nelenwe was slightly more reserved. A slender elf, Nelenwe was quiet and rarely spoke her mind, unless it seemed to be important at the time. Like her daughter, she had pale brown hair, but has grey eyes. The family lived a good life...until one day. The Marketplace of Lacyttoft was a long wide road lined with market stalls and wagons. Some of the stalls were filled with fruits and vegatables, while others were loaded with meat. Some had components for magical items and experiments, while others were merely filled with weapons, armor, toys, and other miscellaneous items. Aria and her family came into the market that day to pick up food to restock their stores, as well as procure some magical item components they needed to be able to continue Aria's current lessons: the construction of devices meant to allow control over Lycanthropy. They've already taught her how to make potions meant to heal wounds, and now Aria's been asking to be taught something more complex. Suddenly, an explosion sounded from nearby as one of the walls blew open. The market immediately erupted into panic. Fortunately, the family managed to keep together. Vorosaer led his family into one of the alleys along the market, and watched as the source of the explosion, pirate raiders, swarmed the market, killing all in their path. Vorosaer led his family away from the market and back towards home. When they got there, Vorosaer and Nelenwe secured the house. However, they knew that they were too close to the entry area of the pirates to be able to go unnoticed, so they readied to fight. Soon, the pirates arrived, and, after minutes of ramming the door, broke through. The parents fought back with all the magic at their disposal. However, the pirates soon overwhelmed Vorosaer, and he fell to them. Urgently, Nelenwe took Aria out to behind the house, and said to her, "You have to run, get out of here. If you stay, they'll kill you, just go, run!" Aria, without another thought, ran, away of the house, and away from the pirate raiders. Nelenwe was knocked to the floor by the pirates, and, the leader of ran her through with his sabre, killing her. Seeing the back gate to the property open, he realized that someone must have gotten away. Not wanting anyone to make it out of the city to spread news of the attack, he took a few of the pirates with him, as well as a hunting dog, and followed the escapee. Like her mother had told her to, Aria kept running, at least until she was on the outskirts of the city, when she finally looked back. The city appeared to be in flames, as the raiders kept attacking. Then, she saw a small group of pirates, who were accompanied by a rather vicious-looking dog. The pirates were coming right at her, one of them pointing her out, so, she turned to the wilderness, and ran. ---- For over a day, in the freezing cold, Aria ran. A few times, she stopped to rest or try to warm up, but once she heard the dog that was with the pirates, she continued running. Now, she trying to make her way through a forest, hiking through snow. She was cold, weak, tired, and on the verge of passing out, but she knew that if she stopped now, the pirates would catch up. Finally, she reached the edge of the forest...and was on the edge of a field. She looked ahead, and saw a house, with a few more behind it. She'd reached a city. She pushed her body forward. She knew she had to reach the house. Maybe find help...maybe...Then, her exhaustion finally caught up with her, and, her body aching from lack of rest, constant running, and the bitter cold, she passed out in the middle of the field. ---- Alban Gisilfrid was a 13 year old human living in the town of Gislitoft. Although not farmers, the family had their own field, for growing their own food. Alban was a tall, muscularly build young man. He was slightly over 5 feet, and was almost 120 pounds. He had long (but not shoulder-length) dark brown hair and brown eyes. His interests lay in the realms of weapons, especially the crossbow. He even had a small, one-handed crossbow, that he used frequently. He was in this field now, practicing his crossbow-skills by hunting for small creatures that tried to eat their crops. However, he soon noticed something: a shape, too different from the creatures he usually hunted. He went to investigate...and found a young girl, face-down on the ground. The paleness of her skin, the color of her hair, and the shape of her ears told Alban she was a moon elf. The most notable thing, however, was that her breathing was ragged, as though she'd just been running nonstop for days. "Hey, Kristine!" Alban called. Coming out of a nearby bush was Alban's 9-year-old sister, Kristine Gisilfrid. Kristine was a 9 year old human girl. At about 4 feet tall and 63 pounds, she was somewhat slender, and she had shoulder-length red hair. Like her brother, she had brown eyes. She was somewhat of an introvert, more than likely due to the fact that she was always picked on, teased, or even beat up by her peers. Her brother seemed to be the only non-adult in town who treated her with any respect. "Who's that?" Kristine asked, noticing the unconscious moon elf girl. "I don't know, but she looks to be near death. Get father, he'll know what to do," Alban said. Kristine then ran back to the house. Alban then rolled the moon elf onto her back. He tried to see if he could rouse the young moon elf, to no avail. Alban looked over the young moon elf. He found her to be quite beautiful, despite the scratches and dirt that were visible on her face and, in areas where her clothes had been torn off, her limbs. He seemed to think she looked rather peaceful, but knew that, from the looks of her, she must be in extreme pain, due to the bruises he also saw on her legs. He though the girl looked as though she used to be from a family of high standing, meaning the fact that she was here, and in such condition, means something must be wrong. Alban muttered to himself, "She must have been running from something to be in this condition." Suddenly, he heard something in the forest, and saw a group of men, with a rather feral-looking dog, exit out. One of the men approached Alban and the girl, but Alban, immediately suspicious, raised his crossbow. "I'd suggest you get out of my family's field, or so help me, I'll..." "You'll what?" the man said, "We're here for the girl. Stand aside, or I'll have your hide as well." The leader of the group wore what appeared to be iron armor, which Alban knew was usually only used by one of 4 types of people: Militarymen, Adventurers, Pirates, or Slavers. Alban believed this man and his party, the rest of which was equipped with leather armor, was likely one of the latter 2. The dog with them looked particularly vicious-looking, like one of the dogs used by pirates, reinforcing the likelihood that these men were pirates. Alban did not stand down, so the man drew a wicked looking sabre. Just then, however, a pair of large crossbow bolts, larger than ones Alban's small, one-handed crossbow could use, then implanted themselves in a nearby tree. Alban quickly realized that Kristine must be back with their father. He then heard his father say to the man, "I suggest you get away from those 2, or the next shot's going to hit you dead in the eye." Alban then raised his one-handed crossbow again, and the group from the forest retreated. Then, Alban's father joined him next to the moon elf. After getting a look at her condition, he said, "Get her inside, out of the freezing cold. We'll warm her up and get her something to eat." ---- The last thing Aria felt when she passed out was the stinging cold, her aching limbs, and extreme levels of fatigue. Now, she was laying on something soft, and feeling a heat source next to her. She eased her eyes open, but some of the effects of fatigue were still blurring her vision, so she couldn't make out her surroundings. She attempted to move, but her limbs still ached from all the running, though not as much as before. She was wondering how long she was out for, when a male voice next to her called out, "She's moving!" She tried to roll over to see the source of the voice, but a hand held her still when she rolled on her back. A male human, around her age if not slightly older, eased into her blurred vision. "Don't strain yourself," the young man said, "You've been out for a while." As Aria's vision cleared, she got a good look at Alban's features. She actually found him to be quite handsome, and, from the sound of his voice, he seemed nice. Aria immediately liked this individual. She tried to speak, but her voice was hoarse, and she was still tired to the point where just saying one word took quite a bit of effort. "How...long...was I...out?" "I do not know. I found you unconscious in the family field a few hours ago. My father and I brought you inside after we drove off some men and a hunting dog. I don't know who they were, but they seemed to be either pirates or slavers." The young man then asked, "Can you tell me you name?" "Aria...Shadewood..." Aria croaked with much effort. "Well, hello then, Aria. I'm Alban Gisilfrid," the young man replied kindly. Then, an older man and woman appeared behind Alban, probably Alban's parents. "How are you doing?" Alban's father asked Aria. "My...limbs...still hurt..." Aria said. "Just need some rest, that's all," Alban's father responded. Then, a younger girl appeared. "So, where are you from?" she asked curiously. "I'm...from...Lacyttoft..." Aria answered. "Lacyttoft?!" Alban exclaimed, "No wonder you're exhausted. That's quite a long way to come." "Where...am I...then?" Aria weakly asked. "You're in Gislitoft," Alban's father answered. "Gislitoft? That...is...far..." Aria responded. Alban's mother then asked, "Would you...like something to eat? You've come a long way, and you look like you haven't eaten in a while..." Aria gave a small sound, and nodded yes. Alban's mother then returned with some bread. After Aria finshed eating, and was given a drink of water, Alban asked, "So...why'd you run all the way to here from Lacyttoft? Why were those men after you?" Aria, who seemed to have a little more strength back, responded, no longer hoarse, but still slightly weak, "Lacyttoft was attacked by pirates...my parents tried to hold them off...when they couldn't, my mother told me to run...so I did...until I arrived here...That's all I can remember." "That sounds horrible..." Alban's mother said. "And you ran all the way here, from Lacyttoft?" Alban's father asked. Aria nooded in response. "You really must have been trying to keep away from those pirates. I guess you're lucky we came when we did. Just get some rest, get your strength back." ---- A day or so later, the news on the attack of Lacyttoft reached Gislitoft. From what the news said, the pirate raiders flattened half the city, leaving the major capital of Maj study in the Republic of Mirannas in disarray. The Gisilfrids had guessed from the news that Aria's family was among those that died, leaving Aria orphaned. The townspeople were initially uncertain of what to do with Aria: some wanted her taken to the local orphanage, some wanted her thrown out, others wanted to take her in themselves. It was finally decided that, as they were the ones to find her, and that she was found on their property, the decision was given to the Gisilfrids. Under Alban's urging, the family decided they'll take the young moon elf in themselves. After being bed-ridden for almost 2 days, Aria finally had the strength to get out of bed. When she entered the next room, she walked in on a conversation the family was having. "Sorry, did I interrupt something?" she asked. "No, of course not," Alban responded. Then after the family gave each other a series of gestures, Alban approached Aria. "We were...just talking...about seeing if you'd like to stay with us for a while." "Are you sure?" Aria responded. She seemed grateful, but also uncertain. "I mean...I don't want to impose..." Alban liked how polite Aria seemed, and that only made him like her more. Now, he was certain he did not want her to leave. "Don't worry," Alban said, "No trouble. No trouble at all." "I'm with Alban," Alban's father spoke up, "We have the room, we always have extra food. If anything, you staying with us will give us a way of dealing with that surplus space and food." Everyone could tell that that was a joke just as much as it was true. Aria smiled. "I guess I have no other option. Thank you..." Prologue 2: Howl in the Night It's been about 4 years since Aria moved in with the Gisilfrids, and, over time, the family seemed to grow fond of her, especially Alban. Occasionally, Alban would show her how skilled he was with his one-handed crossbow, and Aria would occasionally show him a bit of her magical abilities, mostly just her magical sparkling abilities, but she'll occasionally use her magical projectile attack to help Alban chase off the creatures that tried to eat the family crops. Finally, the time soon came for Alban to be tested: Alban was uncertain of himself. However, his sister and Aria assured him he'd be fine. A few nights beforehand, though, Gislitoft would be attacked similarly to Lacyttoft. One night, there was a loud howl and 5 large werewolves charged into the city from the forest. Alban and Aria were in town when this happened, and just managed to beat them to the house. After warning his parents, he noticed Kristine was gone. "Where's Kristine?!" he asked. Suddenly, his father remembered, "She was playing out in the field when I last saw her!" ---- Kristine, however, was already aware of the werewolf attack: one of them had discovered her, and was now ready to pounce at her. She slowly tried to back away, and was about to bolt when the werewolf lunged. It tackled her to the ground. She struggled, and the werewolf swiped at her. One of the werewolf's claws got under her tunic and dug a gash into her torso. It wasn't fatal, or really anything to get worried over, in the medical sense. However, Kristine knew enough about werewolves to know what that gash would do to her. The werewolf raised its hand again readying to deal a killing blow, when a pair of glowing orbs of Maj shot out from the direction of the house and struck the beast. Its attention turned away from Kristine, over to Aria, who had launched a pair of Maj Bolts at the creature. Then, a few small crossbow bolts, consistant with those from Alban's Crossbow, flew in, one of which lodged itself in the werewolf's eye. The beast reared back in pain and roared, allowing Alban to fire one more bolt into the mouth, killing the fiend. Aria came over and crouched next to Kristine. "Are you alright?" she asked. Ultimately deciding to hide the gash left by the werewolf, Kristine asked, "I'm unharmed. Thanks." The group managed to make it to the house, where the family waited out the attack, until the town guard managed to either chase off or kill off the werewolves. ---- Days after the attack, Alban finally faced his trial. Kristine and Aria eagerly awaited Alban's return. However, when he did, his expression (and those from the individuals that accompanied him), told them he failed. The man that oversaw the trial came up to Alban's father and angrily shouted at him, "What kind of son did you raise? He was WORTHLESS on the ship. And you know that a son worthless on a ship has no place in a port town." Aria tried to say something, but could think of nothing to say. Over the next few days, people in the town were giving members of the Gisilfrid family hostile looks, and Kristine's peers treated her even worse than before. Alban knew he was the cause of all this, so, in the end, he decided it was best if he disappeared. However, before he could leave, Aria found him. "What are you doing?" she asked. Alban knew there'd be no sneaking out now. "I'm...I'm leaving. Ever since I failed the test, the whole town's been against my family. I've seen what happens when people fail the test before, and I don't want it to happen to my family." Suddenly, Kristine entered. "You can't leave!" she exclaimed. "Kristine, you know what some of the people do to families who keep their children that care declared useless." "Well, if you go, I'm going too!" "What?!" It was Alban's parents. "It's bad enough Alban feels the need to go," Alban's father said, "But I don't want to lose both of you." "Yes, Kristine, it's best if you stay..." "No one in town likes me anyways," Kristine said, "There's nothing for me here...I might as well just disappear too..." She decided to hide the fact that she believed the werewolf from the other night might have turned her into a Lycanthrope, but that was definitely one of the reasons she needed to leave. Aria then said, "I'll leave as well...Alban, you're the only person in town I got along with, truly, and...I'm not sure what I'd do without you..." Alban lowered his head. "Then...I guess we better get going..." He looked out the window and saw it was getting dark. "We can leave under the cover of nightfall...then mom and dad can spread a rumor that I just ran off in the night." Alban's mother appeared to start crying. His father then said, "Good luck son. Despite what the others say, I know you're not useless. Maybe you can find your place out there. Please, take care of your sister..." "I will." Once the group was prepared, Alban and the others gave their last goodbyes, and left. As they crossed the field, they walked by the spot where Alban first found Aria. After a minute of reminising, the trio entered the forest, certain that this was the last time they'd ever see Gislitoft. Chapter 1: Frozen to the bones... The trio traveled for a half of the night, before the sun finally began to rise. Alban wore a set of traveling clothes he found, slightly modified with parts of leather armor attached. He was armed with his small crossbow and a dagger he had in his boot. His father tried to give him his rapier when he left, but Alban told his father to keep his weapon: Alban was better with his crossbow anyways. Aria wore an ankle-length dress, covered by a dark grey cloak Alban's mother gave her. She wasn't armed at all, saying that she could use mer magic well enough to defend herself. Kristine wore the same clothing (tunic, dress under it) she wore the night the werewolves attacked Gislitoft. She, like her brother, also had a hidden dagger, which her parents gave to her for her own defense. It wasn't like she was too unskilled to use it: she practiced using a dagger a lot, since playing with the other children in town was not an option for her. Aria looked around with uncertain recollection; the last time she'd rested here was while she was being chased by those pirates, 4 years ago. She muttered to herself, "Has it really been that long?" She became so lost in her thoughts that she seemed to have forgotten the others were there. "Hey, Aria, you ok?" Alban asked, passing her a piece of food he packed. "I'm fine," she responded, accepting the food item, "Just...remembering..." "So," Kristine asked, "What are we doing from here?" "I don't know," Alban said, "I just know we can't go back..." Aria seemed to be lost in thought again. "Hey, Aria!" Alban called, snapping her back into reality. "Wait, what? Sorry...just distracted," she said. "Distracted by what?" Alban asked. "I...I'm just...wondering what happened to Lacyttoft...you know, since I left..." Aria responded. After thinking a moment, Alban decided, "Let's go there then...we're heading in that direction. Besides, I think...it might give you some closure." One thing Alban remembered from the past 4 years with Aria is that it seemed that, every so often, she would have nightmares. Alban believed she was reliving the horrors of the attack on Lacyttoft, and he truly believed that her seeing her hometown this far later, hopefully recovered, would offer her some closure. "Are you sure?" she asked. Her tone and expression made her seem like she was 4 years ago, not wanting to be a burden on the family that rescued her. "I don't want to cause us any trouble..." "Don't worry," Alban said, repeating what he said to her those 4 years ago, "No trouble. No trouble at all." ---- The group found their way out of the forest and onto a main road, as the sun went down. However, the road seemed to have not been traveled for a while: fresh snowfall had all but covered the road, and the impressions made in the parts that were exposed were days, even weeks old. "I...remember this road," Aria said, her voice shaky as the memory came to her, "This is the road where supplies would come to Lacyttoft. My parents and I would sometimes come out of the city to talk to one of the caravan drivers. It was always busy..." "Apparently, the attack must have rendered it useless," Kristine said pessimistically. "No," Alban said, "The road's too recently-traveled to have been abandoned those years ago. This road's been recently deserted." "But why?" Aria asked. Then, a voice said, "We'll give you a good guess." Then, a group of men wearing leather armor, armed with axes, bows, and spears, appeared. Some were riding horses, and one, likely the leader, was in iron armor and riding a megascorp with a scar on its 'face'. The large scorpion seemed submissive to its rider, like a slave without hope. "Bandits," Alban realized, pulling out his crossbow. "Looks like there's...6 of them..." he counted. "So, 2 of them for every one of us..." Aria analyzed, "I don't like those odds..." "Well, we still have to fight them. What other choice do we have?" Alban responded. However, before they could continue, the bandits struck. Alban was barely able to avoid one of them and fire his crossbow. The bolt, however, just glanced off the bandit's leather armor. "Get Kristine back, I'll handle the dirty work here..." Aria backed Kristine away from the fight. However, one bandit went after them. Trying to get away from the bandit, Kristine tripped on a branch, while another one caught onto and tore her tunic and the dress underneath. Aria charged a couple Maj Bolts and fired them at the bandit. The bolts struck him dead in the chest, allowing the 2 females to retreat. However, once under cover, Arial ooked at Kristine, as the young girl looked up into the sky and then, as though struck by a migrane, crumpled. "Kristine!" Aria exclaimed, "Are you..." Before Aria could finish, Kristine desparately said, "Just...get back, stay back!" Aria was confused. "Kristine, what is it..." "Aria, get back...please...I don't want to hurt you..." As Kristine jerked to the side, Aria spotted something under the torn area of Kristine's clothing: a jagged scar that appeared to be a few days old, just as old as..."Oh my..." Aria said, shocked, recognizing the werewolf-inflicted wound. She realized immediately what was going on: Kristine must have been turned into a Lycanthrope, and she was about to turn beast mode. Immediately, she rushed to Alban and dragged him behind cover. "What are you doing? Where's Kristine?" Alban asked. Aria rushingly spoke, "You remember the attack on the town a week or so ago, when that werewolf attacked Kristine? I think it managed to get a hit on her, and I think she's about to turn beast." "What?!" Alban exclaimed, looking from behind cover, and watched as his sister morphed before his eyes into a half-human, half-wolf creature. Her limbs lengthened and covered with fur. Her face stretched into a snout, and obtaim lupine features. Her fingernails lengthened and sharpened, becoming large claws. Seeing this transformation, the bandits immediately concentrated on attacking Kristine. However, the first bandit to bring a blade against her had his face clawed off by her claws. Antoher bandit tried to sneak up behind her, but her enhanced hearing caught him, allowing her to tear the man in half. The Bandit leader, mounted his Megascorp and prepared to charge, but Alban seized this chance and also climbed on the massive scorpion. Using his hidden dagger, Alban immediately cut the restraints on the Megascorp. Feeling the restraints come loose and realizing it was free, the Megascorp shook its riders off and fled into the underbrush, having only self-preservation on its mind. Category:Stories